A webinar event combines the benefits of a traditional seminar, lecture, workshop, or training. Although the speaker can’t be seen by the audience, most of the guidelines that apply to webinar are not much different to a traditional seminar. If you are planning to conduct a webinar, here are some guidelines for you:
1. Excite participants with your enthusiasm and energy – Put energy and enthusiasm into your tone, pronunciation, and your intonation. For the content of your presentation; make sure not to overwhelm your attendees by limiting yourself to at least three main points. Also, organize your content in a logical structure.
2. Keep the attendees attention always alive – Visuals play a vital role in keeping the audience engaged in your event. To keep the webinar interesting and alive make use of word pictures as examples. Change slides more often than you would at a traditional speech event. As a rule, no slide should stay on the screen for more than 45 to 60 seconds. Also, keep your slides simple and readable.
3. For timing of slides, practice your presentation prior to the scheduled event so you know how to work through the slides while talking.
4. Delivering a speech for a webinar is hard because you see nothing but the wall of your office or room. You may try having at least one person with you during the webinar, so that you can see someone while talking. However, make sure that person should behave like an inspiring listener or audience.
5. Give your participants a chance to talk – Running a seminar opens up the possibility of establishing a relationship with your audience. By giving your attendees a chance to interact with you and others, you also increases your chances of obtaining a business later.
6. Charging a fee – Attendees are willing to pay for webinars that will give them substantial educational benefits. Usually, webinars that run less than a full day are free of charge but if a webinar runs for a day or two, a speaker is entitled to charge the event. For most two-day programs, a fee ranges from $1,500 to $2,000.
7. Good planning – Planning every detail of your webinar lets you avoid possible problems that you might encounter. You can use your advance research to determine just the right products for your group of attendees. You can also talk with some of the participants in advance to know their interests and preferences.
8. Select the right time for delivering webinar – The best time for delivering webinar is around 7 PM and the best days are Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Avoid holding a webinar on Mondays and Fridays. Why? Mondays and Fridays tend to be too hectic because of the weekend. Also, be alert to public holidays which can vary from state to state, province to province, and country to country. Don’t forget the time zone differences. The best time for North American audience is after 9 AM and for the Pacific audience is before 3 PM.